Home Market Releases for September 8th, 2015

September 8th, 2015

The home market is not particularly strong. The Age of Adaline is the biggest first-run release of the week, at least as far as physical releases are concerned. The Avengers: Age of Ultron is coming out on Video on Demand and it is bigger than all other releases combined. However, I really think it is a waste to rent it, as the Blu-ray is Pick of the Week material. Or to be more accurate, it will be Pick of the Week when it comes out in October. As for the Pick of the Week for this week, I'm going with Over the Garden Wall on DVD.

The Age of Adaline - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo PackVideo on Demand
A late April release, which is never a good sign. It's one of the three dumping grounds in the movie industry calender. Is there a reason this film was dumped into theaters in April? Or is it good counter-programming? Read our review to find out.

Blue Bloods: Season 5 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
A police procedural show that deals more with the life of a family dominated by cops rather than the crimes they solve. I've reviewed the show in the past and it is an amazing consistent, but old-fashion cop show. It doesn't have the same pace or clever mysteries as others in the genre.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 2 - Buy from Amazon: DVDVideo on Demand
One of the better sitcoms to debut in the past few years. It is set in a cop station, but deals with police life more than solving crimes. The cast is very talented and the writing is sharp. On the other hand, the extras are limited to some deleted scenes. That's disappointing.

Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon: The Family Man
The first snowflake in what will soon be a blizzard of Christmas releases.

The Goldbergs: Season 2 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
A very typical sitcom and that's not a compliment. The first season's reviews were mixed. Season two they jumped to 100% positive, but the number of reviews went from 40 to 5, so a lot of critics just quit reviewing the show. This makes it really hard to judge a TV show's quality by its reviews. The commitment is just too large and if the show isn't great, it might just not be worth continuing. Lord knows I've dropped a lot of shows I used to review.

Gotham: Season 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-rayVideo on Demand
Speaking of the difficulties in using Rotten Tomatoes on TV shows. This show's first season earned 90% positive reviews. However, of the 22 episodes in the first season, only two earned 90% positive reviews or better. More than half of them were 70% or lower. How do you judge a show when the individual episodes earn reviews so much weaker than the overall season? On the other hand, if you do enjoy the show, there are plenty of extras on the DVD and Blu-ray, so it is clearly worth picking up.

Haven: Complete Fifth Season, Volume 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
There are too many supernatural type shows out there and this one doesn't rise above the crowd. This could explain why it was canceled after five seasons.

Homeland: Season 4 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-rayVideo on Demand
I reviewed the first two seasons of this show, but I didn't have time in my schedule to take on a full season review, so I had to skip this season. The reviews are good, but not award-worthy as they were for the first two seasons. Likewise, the DVD and Blu-ray are worth picking up, but not Pick of the Week material.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Monster Musical - Buy from Amazon: DVD
A Halloween themed release from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I would complain about how it is too early for Halloween, but there's also a Christmas release on this week's list, so this seems perfectly reasonable by comparison.

Over the Garden Wall - Buy from Amazon: DVD
A ten-part animated mini-series that aired on the Cartoon Network. It follows the adventures of two half-brothers who find themselves in a strange and magical place. The reviews were excellent and there's some crossover appeal with adults as well as kids. Extras include audio commentary, music only track, making of featurette, deleted scenes in animatic form, and more, for just $10. That's Pick of the Week Material.

Shocker - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
This film was written and directed by Wes Craven, who passed away just over a week ago. Normally I think it is ghoulish to take advantage of a celebrity's death to sell merchandise, but there's no way Shout!Factory could know that he would die a week before they put out this special edition release. There are plenty of extras on the Blu-ray, including a new audio commentary track by Wes Craven. Granted, this isn't Wes Craven's best movie, it isn't even close, but it is also not as bad as its Tomatometer Score.

Supernatural: Season 10 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-rayVideo on Demand
This show is so old it started on the WB, a network that ceased to exist about a decade ago. I used to watch this show regularly, starting during the first season, but it has been years since I watched it. I did check the reviews, which are 100% positive for this past season. On the other hand, there are only five reviews, so clearly a lot of critics who previously reviewed the show have stopped. Also, last season's ratings were the weakest in the show's run so far. On the positive side, the extras include three audio commentary tracks, a few featurettes, deleted scenes, and outtakes. If you are a fan of the show, it is easily worth picking up and even a contender for Pick of the Week.

United Passions - Buy from Amazon: DVDVideo on Demand
One of the worst movies ever made, both in terms of box office revenue and critical reception. Lesson to learn here, don't try and make Sepp Blatter a good guy. Moviegoers are not willing to suspend disbelief that much.

Vicious: The Complete Second Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
A British TV series starring Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi, as a gay couple who have been together for 50 years and now spend most of their time entertaining guests and insulting each other. The reviews are excellent and it is worth picking up for anyone who likes the British sense of humor.